Return
Badge collection
Effort: Medium
What to notice
A collection grid shows how close the next badge is.
How to build it
- Create a badge for each valuable way to use the product.
- Show the next badge’s condition and how far there is to go.
- Never make badges mandatory.
Measure
- Main metric
- Use of the targeted features
- Guardrail
- Empty actions done just for badges, such as low-effort posts
When it backfires
Required badges erode the sense of choice and can sap motivation.
Theory behind it
Goal-gradient effect
People speed up as they get closer to a goal.
Well supported
Octalysis (8 Core Drives)
A framework that splits what drives people into eight forces, so you can see which ones a design relies on.
Practitioner framework
Overjustification effect
Adding contingent rewards to something people already enjoy can make them stop doing it once rewards end.
Contested
Does gamification work?
Gamification is using game design elements outside games. Average effects are small to moderate and depend heavily on context and design.
Contested
Playable demos
Try the same mechanism in a playable demo.